TOMODACHI J&J Disaster Nursing Program Participants Present Their Findings and Lessons Learned from the Year-Long Program

On November 27, 2016, the post-trip presentations for the TOMODACHI J&J Disaster Nursing Training Program took place at the International Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku University, where the 12 nursing students presented their findings and lessons learned from the program, as well as their future goals. The TOMODACHI J&J Disaster Nursing Training Program is designed to build institutional knowledge and capacity in the medical field in the Tohoku region by focusing on the field of disaster nursing. The program is comprised of the following three components: the pre-trip seminar, U.S. study tour, and post trip symposium. The post-trip symposium was not only offered to family and friends of the participants, but also program participants from last year and guests who provided support for the program.

The symposium commenced with remarks by Mr. Tamotsu Hiiro, President of Johnson & Johnson, K.K. who congratulated the participants’ achievements and encouraged them to apply and cultivate what they learned from the program.

The second portion of the symposium consisted of three presentations:  program overview, participants’ accomplishments, and feedback from mentors. During the program overview presentation, five participants explained the program content followed by a video presentation featuring the U.S. Study Tour. During the participants’ presentations, each student talked about their desire and beliefs. Although each presentation was limited to five minutes, each individual was able to showcase what they learned from the seminars including their superior presentation skills acquired from the program.  Finally, the mentors spoke about the participants’ growth and accomplishments as well as future expectations for the participants from the viewpoint of mentors, who closely worked with the participants throughout the program.

In conclusion, the participants received words of encouragement from Dr. Shinichi Egawa of the International Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku University, who provided great support for the program. Dr. Egawa’s desire was that participants succeed in the field and he added that similar programs will contribute to the area of disaster medicine.

A reception was held after the symposium, where the participants and the attendees enjoyed networking opportunities.

Several of the program participants made the following comments:

“The people I met through this program are people whom I wouldn’t have been able to meet if I was just a nursing student in Fukushima. I will cherish the experience of meeting these people. I would like to keep in touch with them, and continue enhancing one another’s skills even after we become professional nurses.” – Hitomi Baba

“I want to become a health professional who can take action as a next generation leader.” – Yuka Takae

Recruitment is now open for Japanese nursing students for the TOMODACHI J&J Disaster Nursing Program 2017. Please click here for more details.